NCAA to announce Penn State penalties 9 a.m. Monday

Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - The NCAA has said it will announce sanctions against Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky sexual child abuse scandal.

A press conference is set for Monday at 9 a.m. ET.

The NCAA scheduled its press conference shortly after Penn State removed the statue of legendary head football coach Joe Paterno from the front of Beaver Stadium.

Various reports indicate that Penn State will be severely punished for its actions stemming from the Sandusky scandal, but the university will likely avoid the "death penalty."

Scholarship losses and a postseason ban will be among the likely penalties. The "death penalty" would put the football program on hiatus for at least one year and possibly longer.

Any sanctions will come without the NCAA's usual lengthy process. The NCAA normally does its own investigation, sends a school a list of infractions, waits for a response and then issues penalties.

The NCAA is likely using the Freeh Report, the findings of an investigation commissioned by Penn State and conducted by former FBI director Louis Freeh, as its source for determining sanctions.

Sandusky was found guilty last month on 45 of the 48 counts charging him with sexual abuse against 10 boys over a 15-year period and will likely spend the rest of his life in jail after he is sentenced later this year.

The Freeh Report accused many Penn State officials, including Paterno, school president Graham Spanier and athletic director Tim Curley, of concealing "critical facts relating to Sandusky's child abuse from the authorities, the board of trustees, Penn State community, and the public at large."

Paterno was fired as Penn State's head coach last November, just days after Sandusky's arrest, and died of lung cancer in January. Paterno's family has denied the Freeh Report's assertions against the coach.